Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven: Exhibition „Sand and Salt“

A Late Summer of Islands, Coasts, and Water

In late summer 2026, the Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven dedicates its main program to the major thematic exhibition „Sand and Salt. Islands, Found and Lost“. The show runs from July 3 to September 27, 2026, and is part of a trilogy the venue is dedicating to the theme of coast, water, and change in 2026.

Three Thematic Axes

The exhibition is structured around three central questions:

• Existing and Sunken Islands: Which geographies have disappeared? Which islands are threatened by rising seas? Which are newly created?
• Changing Coastlines: How is the relationship between land and water shifting? What are the cultural and ecological consequences?
• Human-Sea Relationship: What relationships does humanity develop with the sea – utilization, protection, myth, threat?

Wilhelmshaven Context

Wilhelmshaven is located directly on the UNESCO World Heritage Wadden Sea and is also Germany's only deep-sea port city – this dual role as a natural coast and industrial harbor shapes its identity. Against this backdrop, the exhibition resonates particularly strongly: what becomes visible as artistic discourse in the Kunsthalle is lived reality right outside the door – Wadden Sea protection, harbor expansion, storm surge danger, and climate adaptation.

Previously: Jeewi Lee – „Where Fragments Linger by the Sea“

Before the thematic exhibition, the Kunsthalle will host the solo show by Korean-German artist Jeewi Lee from April 24 to June 21, 2026. With the title „Where Fragments Linger by the Sea“, the exhibition lays the thematic groundwork for „Sand and Salt“: Lee's works revolve around fragments, memory, materiality, and traces of history. The solo show and the group exhibition together form a consistently curated half-year program.

A Program with Depth

With „Sand and Salt“, the Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven further expands its profile as a venue for socially relevant contemporary art. Climate change, ecological issues, migration, and cultural identity – all these are echoed in an exhibition that reads islands and coastlines as metaphors for our present.